3.4 Volcanoes in the Solar System

Vocabulary

Outline

Earth's Moon

• moon's surface has craters in it
• lava flowed on the moon's smooth areas, which is why they are smooth
  • happened more than three billion years ago

Volcanoes on Venus

• Venus has tons of volcanoes
  • scientists are trying to find evidence that the volcanoes on Venus are still active
• like earth, Venus has volcanic mountains and other features that are probably made of thin lava
  • thin lava produces gently sloping shield volcanoes with broad bases, as well as long, river-like lava flows

Volcanoes on Mars

• fewer volcanoes on Mars than Venus
  • largest volcano is on Mars
    • called Olympus Mons

Volcanoes on Distant Moons

• only two other places in the solar system where volcanic eruptions have been observed
  • Io, a moon of planet Jupiter
  • Triton, a moon of planet Neptune